- An accomplished healthcare comms professional, over the past year Ed has been spearheading communications support for a leading COVID-19 vaccine, guiding a 15-person team during an extremely challenging period. He is the driving force behind a global ‘cardiology patients and caregivers’ working group, and has previously held the position of secretariat for a pan-European head and neck cancer awareness campaign.
Nominator says: "Ed is one of the top public relation professionals in the country... he has developed a skillset to use PR as one of the most effective tools available for combating the world's biggest health threats"
Take me back to the full 30 Under 30 list for 2021
What's your favourite thing about working in PR?
I have been fortunate to work with some incredible people, including leading figures in medicine and some truly inspirational patient advocates. I am passionate about science and love that our role as communicators is to make complex scientific information engaging, to educate and ultimately improve outcomes for people all over the world.
What have you learnt about yourself during the COVID-19 crisis?
Working in a field that revolves around communicating the latest healthcare information and news, including around COVID-19, has made it a rollercoaster 12 months! I have also gained a new perspective on the issues of diversity and inequality, and now understand more about the importance of ensuring everyone’s voices are heard, which I hope has made me a better communicator.
Check out the 30 Under 30 Newcomers list here
What do you think will be the single biggest change to the PR industry brought about by the pandemic?
The pandemic has taught me that partnerships and collaboration are vital to finding solutions to issues of global proportions. I truly believe that healthcare communications, if done well, can be a healthcare intervention. Ensuring effective collaboration, including public-private partnerships, will be crucial to improving outcomes for patients.
What one thing above all would you change about the PR industry?
In healthcare PR it’s paramount to understand the patient perspective. To ultimately improve outcomes for patients we should continue to push ourselves to prioritise their voice. I believe a key aspect of improving outcomes for patients and improving health and wellbeing of people around the world, is effective collaboration through public-private partnerships. As we have seen through global initiatives like the Pandemic Action Network, co-founded by Evoke KYNE, uniting different stakeholders with a common goal can have a huge impact, with communications playing a huge role.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I see myself becoming a leader within Evoke KYNE focussing on patient advocacy and public health, as we continue to address the unmet health needs of people around the world. I would like to continue working closely with Patient Advocacy Groups, integrating them at the heart of a patient-centric approach to communications.
